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The elevator doors chose that second to jostle open. I held a hand above my head to shield my eyes from the bright lobby lights.
My teammates, Reggie and Whitty, stood there in big puffer jackets carrying pizza boxes. Both their mouths were dropped open in shock.
Reggie nudged Whitty. “I think we interrupted something.”
Josie popped off my bag and scurried out of the elevator. “Good evening, gentlemen. No, you did not,” she clarified.
Whitty’s eyes slid to mine, and his mouth did that funny thing where it was caught between a smile and a grimace. I slowly got to my feet and dumped my hockey bag out onto the lobby’s tiled floor.
“You boys might wanna take the stairs,” I advised, basically telling them to get the hell out of here.
They both gave head nods and wandered up the stairwell.
As soon as they were gone, Josie turned and bumped right into my chest. I had to steady her again, placing my hand at the small of her back. She seemed a bit shaky on her feet.
My eyebrows scrunched together. “Hey, you good?”
She nodded quickly, but her body was still slightly trembling, and I immediately felt bad for pushing her like I did when she was clearly freaked out by the elevator mishap.
She wasn’t making a move to step away from me, so I smoothed my hand up her back and massaged her neck. “Relax, babe.” The words popped out of me so naturally, and I didn’t regret it.
We stood there for a minute, and I could feel her tension draining. Her forehead dropped against my chest, and she let out a breathy little sigh. I bet she had no clue what that did to me.How the hell could she say I wasn’t her type?
And of course, I couldn’t hold my stupid self back from wanting more. The competitor in me needed to know if stupid Jeff would have the ability to calm her like this… If Jeff would care for her like this…
I rested my chin on her hair. “I think you’d have more fun with me at dinner,” I whispered.
She took in a deep breath, then pulled back to look up at me with wary eyes. “I refuse to date a hockey player, Tyler.”
Ah-ha.There it was. I knew her other excuse was bullshit. There’s no way she wasn’t feeling the connection between us. And hearing that honestly made me kinda relieved, because now I knew the barrier standing between us was terribly flimsy. I just had to convince her to look past my profession– which was so fucking ironic because women usually found it attractive.
“But I’m not even a good one,” I said with a chuckle.
She rolled her now misty eyes. “Be serious.”
“I am!” I urged with a smile. “Just ask my boys. I’m practically a bender,” I joked.
“Shut up.” She was trying to maintain a steely exterior but she was struggling to keep her lips in a firm line.
“Is that the only reason?” I pushed.
She nodded against my chest.
In a daring movie, I hooked a finger under her chin to bring her hazel eyes to mine. “Then why won’t you date a hockey player?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” her voice was high-pitched now, nervous.
“Um… no?” I responded calmly.
She took a huge step back and flung an arm toward me looking completely flustered. “You’re all just trying to suck up to my dad.”
“No, that’s not-”
She was shaking her head, shutting down, becoming guarded with that fake pretentious front she got when she was trying to control a situation, but I could see right through her facade. I wasn’t imagining those goosebumps that erupted on her neck and arm when I whispered in her ear, nor her irritation at the “buddy” title. She wanted me too, but she wasn’t letting herself have me.
“I have to go. Have a nice night, Tyler,” she said tightly before scurrying to the stairwell, completely forgetting to grab her mail.
I chuckled as I turned to the door. Because she was thrown off by me too, and I finally found out my exact hurdle. Now I just needed to know how to clear it.
